Football team Cape Verde
Football is very popular on the Cape Verde islands. You can find small football fields everywhere. On the beach, along a dry river or on a flat part of a mountain. Despite the fact that the country has only half a million inhabitants and it is the 30th smallest country in the world, Cape Verde is among the best football countries in Africa. The national football team of Cape Verde is nicknamed ‘Blue Sharks’ or ‘Creoles’. The Cape Verde team has risen from oblivion to the point where they have defeated countries such as Cameroon, South Africa and even Portugal. Since the last 10 years, the Cape Verde football team has been in the top 100 of the FIFA world rankings. The highest ranking has been place 27.
The journey from Cape Verde to the African football top
In 1975 Cape Verde became independent from Portugal. Since the independence, the first international football match took place in 1979. This game was played against the neighboring Guinea-Bissau which was beaten 3-0. In 1986, the Cape Verdean League became a member of FIFA (the international organization for football). Until the year 2000, the Cape Verdean national team was ranked 180 on the FIFA world ranking. The team had never qualified for the African Football Championship (Africa Cup).
As a former colony of Portugal, the passion for soccer was already there. Facilities and special programs were still missing. With the support of FIFA, the first grass fields on the Cape Verde islands were laid out. And projects were started to let the youth play more football. Since then, football is an even more important part of Cape Verdean sportsculture. Also good football players with Cape Verdean roots living in a different country, nowadays more often choose the national football team of Cape Verde. Previously, many players chose the country where they live, since the level was a lot higher. Think of top players like Nani (Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha) who played for the English club Manchester United and played for Portugal. Or the Swedish player Henrik Larsson who played for the football clubs Feyenoord and Celtic.The rapid development of Cape Verdean football over the past two decades has established the country as one of Africa’s emerging football nations. After making its Africa Cup of Nations debut in 2013, Cape Verde qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2026 and reached the Round of 32, marking the greatest achievement in the nation’s football history.
Performance Cape Verdean football team
Below you will find the most striking presentations of the national football team of Cape Verde.
World Championship
- 2026: round of 32 (eliminated by Argentina after extra time).
African Championship (Africa Cup)
- 2023: quarterfinals
- 2021: eight finals
- 2015: 11th place
Biggest profit ever
Cape Verde - Sao Tome and Principe: 7 - 1 (2015)
Biggest loss ever
Senegal - Cape Verde: 5 - 1 (1981)